US media omission: Iran calls for global nuclear disarmament

The American public has not been informed by the US news media about highly newsworthy statements made by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday February 12.

He said the era of nuclear weapons is over, suggesting Iran has no plans to build “inhumane” A-bombs. Ahmadinejad called for a world free of nuclear arms in an interview with Russia’s NTV channel.

“We believe that not only the Middle East but also the whole world should be free of nuclear weapons because we see such weapons as inhumane,” he said.

“Today, no one can use a nuclear weapon and we believe that the US is taking a wrong move by stockpiling nuclear weapons,” he added. “Those who claim that they are against nuclear weapons should dismantle their nuclear weapons first to prove that they are honest.”

So far, the libertarian-leaning Antiwar.com has been the only American media outlet to cover his statements.

Considering Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s calls for sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s position that new sanctions should be “crippling,” one might think the US media would pay attention to Ahmadinejad’s statements.

Instead, the media’s Sarah Palin obsession means that more Americans heard repeated calls to start a new war with Iran in the past week.

Iran has continually denied it plans to build nuclear weapons. The country’s high-profile stance is that enriched uranium will be used for Tehran’s medical reactor.

The interview Friday was given to Russian channel NTV, once critical of all-powerful Vladimir Putin, but now controlled by the state-owned Gazprom conglomerate. CNN published a timeline of the changes to the station nine years ago.